The Nketiah Deal - behind the scenes (long article)

[YorkshireSection]

Just now, antlers said:

Good insight into what had happened, its good to put some details to the scenario as when it was playing out nobody had a clue what was going on.

Leave Arsenal youngsters alone now, we cant be relying on them when their management is so indecisive. Time was running out for us and we are quite lucky to get Afobe in at such short notice. The best revenge we can get now is finishing above Leeds in the league and Afobe scoring more than Nketiah.

Neither of which will happen, unfortunately.

[spudski]

9 hours ago, Harry said:

Agreed. 

From how understood the Nketiah saga had broken down, LJ had done all his presentations and fee agreements well before Leeds were involved. We were assured that we were going to be the recipient of the player, but that the decision was resting with Emery as to whether he wanted to keep him for the 1st team. If he was to be loaned, he was ours.

Leeds’ involvement was well after we’d already had this agreement. 

Basically, Arsenal went back on their gentleman’s agreement with us. It was all agreed, just pending Emery’s authorisation for him to go. 

Then Leeds lost Roofe, came in, did their pitch and Emery’s old mate got the job. 

Arsenal have acted FAR from professionally in this matter. Quite the opposite of what this article is attempting to portray. 

It’s a bullcrap article, designed to make Arsenal and Leeds both look super professional. Truth is Arsenal reneged on a promise and Leeds got him on a mates favour. That’s fine - not bitter. But just be honest about it. 

I think LJ and MA are super-pissed at Arsenal and I’d be surprised if we deal with them again. 

Unfortunately articles like that will be seen as gospel.

[Bristol Oil Services]

"Eddie Nketiah it is cold,

In your little corner of the, er, changing room,

You could roll around the Championship / Bailey Wright, 

And never find a warmer soul to know

....

Oh Nketiah you will never know, anything about our ground

We'll never know how good it feels to hold/loan you,

Nketiah we need you so ......

........

Do you ever dream of us?

Do you ever see the online forum things we write?

.....

And if there ever comes a time

Bielsa - bub no longer picks you , bud

And if you're free to make a choice (and prepared attend a bloody medical)

Just look toward the West and find a PL club in waiting (there will be some waiting involved)

......

Eddie Nketiah you will never know...."

 

This is what singing is for, lads. It works. Getting angry, trying to explain and understand what happened : you - we - are just prolonging the pain, the hurt. 

Singing - together - and loving and supporting who we do have: I know it's not what we do, but unfortunately, what we do is not helping, and does not work.

 

[Baldyman]

Interesting article on BBC sport yesterday re Bielsa naming his team days before a game. Already said that the team for Wigan is the same as the team V Forest....so no Nketiah again. It seems that as long as Bamford is playing well, young Edward ain’t gonna get a look in !   I’m sure you’re gonna learn loads sat on your arse all season mate   

[SPAZZA]

Chelsea boys

Blackman - was actually no better than Bailey Peacock-Farrell, we expected him to be. When BPF was going through bad form Bielsa actually said "I'm changing keeper and Blackman will start this weekend", Blackman broke his leg a day later.

Brown - Came to us recovering from and ACL, wasn't expected to be fit until January, on this basis we paid nothing for him until he was fully fit (Chelsea saw it as a bonus if he got games). He actually was never fully fit until Mid April (which is a shame as I rate him).

Baker - Was given opportunities, but to be honest wasn't good enough. In the first 6 months of the season Phillips and Klich were immovable from the team such was the effect Bielsa had on them, Baker just didn't take to it and always seemed very underwhelming / not as good.

The last decent loan we had was Jansson, that was a loan to buy.

Costa is also a loan to buy.

Other than that loans have been terrible over the past 10 years because of the high turnover of managers.

[swanker]

He didn’t get on the pitch again yesterday. I thought the terms of him going to Leeds was to get game time. He might as well stayed at the Emirates and sat on the bench. I will wet myself if this goes pear shaped for him and Arsenal. 

[1bristolcity]

1 minute ago, swanker said:

He didn’t get on the pitch again yesterday. I thought the terms of him going to Leeds was to get game time. He might as well stayed at the Emirates and sat on the bench. I will wet myself if this goes pear shaped for him and Arsenal. 

Leeds are top they won again without him, that's the difference between us and them, we were desperate to sign him but the were Meh...

(hate that meh thing but couldn't find anything else that would fit.)

[hoxton casual]

The idea that this was some kind of ultra technical tender process with weighted scoring seems to be far fetched. At the end of the day, from the players statements, it seems he was very influential in the decision and just wanted to play for a bigger club. I also find it hard to believe the agent did not play a big part in the decision, and financials would have been critical. Wrong decision in my book, as he would have got far more playing time here than at Leeds, but we shall see. We have got a more experienced player with Afobe, which is important with Pack leaving. I still wonder if we did have all our eggs in one basket with Nketiah, and if so that sounds a very risk proposition for such an important recruitment we had to get right. Ashton has not gone public on the transfer window yet, but it will be a fascinating tale when the truth finally comes out.

[wendyredredrobin]

Going to be keeping a close eye on the Benik vs Eddie goal tally this year! Pathetic I know, but that transfer saga really p!ssed me off. Would be fantastic to do them over at Elland road in February.    

[cityexile]

25 minutes ago, hoxton casual said:

The idea that this was some kind of ultra technical tender process with weighted scoring seems to be far fetched. At the end of the day, from the players statements, it seems he was very influential in the decision and just wanted to play for a bigger club. I also find it hard to believe the agent did not play a big part in the decision, and financials would have been critical. Wrong decision in my book, as he would have got far more playing time here than at Leeds, but we shall see. We have got a more experienced player with Afobe, which is important with Pack leaving. I still wonder if we did have all our eggs in one basket with Nketiah, and if so that sounds a very risk proposition for such an important recruitment we had to get right. Ashton has not gone public on the transfer window yet, but it will be a fascinating tale when the truth finally comes out.

No idea at all, but feels a lot of truth in that. I think if a lower premiership side has come calling he would have said ‘yeh, great presentation, I am going there’.

It would have been a coup if we had got him. This may just be me looking for silver linings, but honestly feel Adobe requires less faffing around with our shape that he would have done, and that the way Leeds play is more suited to him. We will see. He had a great pre season, but it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that he was much more fired up for it than those around him, as in his mind he was playing to get in the main Arsenal squad. Much more relaxed about it all now than I was with ten to go on transfer deadline day.

[Corshamred]

I wonder how many will carry on checking to see if he gets on the pitch each game. 

[italian dave]

8 minutes ago, Corshamred said:

I wonder how many will carry on checking to see if he gets on the pitch each game. 

If he stays on the bench, loads. If he starts scoring regularly, not many!

[chinapig]

The player and Arsenal were entitled to make their choice. What sticks in my craw is the fact that, if the reporting was accurate, neither he nor anybody representing him had the courtesy to inform us that he wouldn't be turning up for the medical.

If that tells us something about his character we may be better off without him.

 

[Pezo]

From my perspective the decision to go to Leeds and there selling point over us is more fans and better exposure (sky). I think if arsenal had said he was the next in line, sat on the bench every week he would have stayed at arsenal. All the talk of him not wanting to be here - I get the impression he doesn't want to be anywhere other than arsenal unless he has to to progress his career and give himself better opportunity at arsenal.

At least with afobe we have a try before you buy, both could score 20 goals this season - Afobe joins us for 7m and we instantly sell him to a Prem club for 20m, Eddie goes back to arsenal and arsenal loan him out to Bournemouth. Otherwise they both score 5 we don't sign Afobe and once again Eddie goes back Arsenal. In both scenarios I think we win, in fact I think the only way Leeds have a better deal is if they get promoted. 

[chipdawg]

So what it boiled down to was that Orta and Emery are mates. Interesting that the article reckons Dusseldorf were ahead of us in the running, perhaps the medical we arranged was part of the brinkmanship, rather than out of an actual expectation that he'd be signing.

One way that this doesn't reflect well on us: if the race for Nketiah was that wide open, why did we put all our eggs in that basket? Sounds like a pretty reckless strategy from MA and LJ. I think we landed on our feet with Afobe in the end, but I'm not sure why we're all in on EN for so long and until so late in the game

[BobBobSuperBob]

If Nketiah has led the line as well as Afobe did Saturday I’d be surprised , if delighted 

Afobe showed his experience on Saturday I thought , something for all his perceived ability , Nketiah has not

Tammy bucked the norm but experience at this level is invaluable and in a new side , as LJ has said, Afobe’s experience becomes even more important

 

Nketiah or Afobe - We got the right man

[ashton_fan]

Having seen Afobe on Saturday Leeds may have done us a favour, not sure I'd want to swap him for a talented kid on loan for the season. We have the option to buy him so the benefits could carry over to next year, and he has a proven goalscoring record at Championship level. It will be interesting to see the comparative goal counts at the end of the season.

[City Ben]

Genuine question - what is all this about us putting "all of our eggs in one basket"? 

Doesn't the fact that Afobe signed mere hours after the EN deal fell over demonstrate pretty clearly that we had back up plans? 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just looking at Leeds briefly, some of their selections are a bit odd.

Clarke- Saturday, not even on bench, Costa- bench. Nketiah- bench. Can only assume some are being eased in, reckon the Arsenal loanee will be playing regularly sooner rather than later.

[chinapig]

2 minutes ago, City Ben said:

Genuine question - what is all this about us putting "all of our eggs in one basket"? 

Doesn't the fact that Afobe signed mere hours after the EN deal fell over demonstrate pretty clearly that we had back up plans? 

Some fans seem to think we work on one deal at a time and if that falls through we start again from scratch. Quite why they think that is a mystery.

[East Londoner]

I’m not convinced Afobe is the panic buy lots of people think, firstly if he was it would’ve surely been a loan not with an option to buy 

Also I’ve seen it reported someone that other championships clubs were in for him and it was LJ who convinced him to sign 

The more i think of this article it’s obviously been written with a Leeds bias and makes no mention of all the alleged groundwork that went into it so probably can be taken with a pinch of salt.

Whatever the truth is the early signs are we’ve ended up with a striker who appears to be a good fit and seems to be settling in well.

As for Nketiah, it’s a long season so he’ll probably get a chance to play at Leeds but it still remains to be seen how he’ll get on at this level 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Afobe is a good signing anyway, if he's happy and in a side more suited to his style he'll score goals and contribute well in an all round sense.

[chinapig]

4 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Just looking at Leeds briefly, some of their selections are a bit odd.

Clarke- Saturday, not even on bench, Costa- bench. Nketiah- bench. Can only assume some are being eased in, reckon the Arsenal loanee will be playing regularly sooner rather than later.

He'll only play regularly if Bamford gets injured or Bielsa decides to play 2 strikers, which seems unlikely as the system is working fine.

[BobBobSuperBob]

6 minutes ago, ashton_fan said:

Having seen Afobe on Saturday Leeds may have done us a favour, not sure I'd want to swap him for a talented kid on loan for the season. We have the option to buy him so the benefits could carry over to next year, and he has a proven goalscoring record at Championship level. It will be interesting to see the comparative goal counts at the end of the season.

I’m not sure any goal comparison has significant relevance 

We need a striker IMHO with an all round game , a focus , to help us as a side in general 

Goals only tell part of the story and Afobe will need to make a decent contribution

I’m  no expert on Nketiah but on what I’ve seen he’s more a second striker , the icing on the cake , type of player who in a strong side may well score plenty

I don’t think we were set up for him yet tbh 

Im sure with service from Palmer and Nagy he would have enjoyed himself , but Afobe will help us as a side much more and a more solid choice 

[Red Skin]

On 15/08/2019 at 12:17, CliftonCliff said:

we have at bottom been effectively dicked around by some guy who ends up doing his old mate a favour. 

Of course the Arsenals and Chelseas of this world will want to assure themselves that they are loaning young players to clubs where they will be well looked after and will benefit from game time, but there is nevertheless something in it of being called into the headmaster's study to give an account of yourself that I find a bit arrogant and patronising

If the article is true, I'd have thought the friendship only help pipped them to the deal over us.  Put it this way, if Neil Warnock was a friend and he did a presentation on how he wanted to hoof the ball up the NK, I don't think it would have swung it Neil's way.

Only right that Arsenal should do due diligence to protect their player.  NK is a highly valuable asset, and I am sure they also have the players interests at heart too.  A poor loan could really set a player back. Maybe not to the same level of detail, but I'd expect us to do some sort of assessment on clubs we loan players to as well.

[BobBobSuperBob]

Anybody considered Afobe AND Nketiah we’re both high on our list with Afobe actually a replacement for FD conditional on us getting a acceptable bid for FD with a view to Nketiah as well

We don’t get interest in or acceptable offer for FD .....we hold on Afobe ....Nketiah falls through so we change plan and actually bring in FDs potential replacement 

[Leveller]

5 minutes ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Anybody considered Afobe AND Nketiah we’re both high on our list with Afobe actually a replacement for FD conditional on us getting a acceptable bid for FD with a view to Nketiah as well

We don’t get interest in or acceptable offer for FD .....we hold on Afobe ....Nketiah falls through so we change plan and actually bring in FDs potential replacement 

We’re still short of strikers. Afobe as an alternative to Diedhiou, AND Nketiah as a different type would have been useful.

[BobBobSuperBob]

1 minute ago, Leveller said:

We’re still short of strikers. Afobe as an alternative to Diedhiou, AND Nketiah as a different type would have been useful.

Don’t think the finances add up to that

I think we’d have needed to move FD on which I suspect we would 

[Robin1988]

On 15/08/2019 at 13:01, Olé said:

Well said - and others on the thread have said the same - what a load of ****. Interesting story but a complete PR exercise for Leeds that spins an impossible story.

I assume this is Phil Hay the ex Leeds local evening paper journo, who left to join this new platform (Leeds are one of only two clubs outside the Prem that are covered). He always writes to keep the Leeds fans happy, and we know how emotional they all are - last season he was writing pieces for them about Steve Lansdown and about sock-gate. 

Well written, but implying City arrange medicals out of pure hope is another of his re-writes of history designed to give the Leeds fans something to crow about at our expense. Not to mention the sheer fantasy of casting them as the only team to make a detailed presentation or Arsenal being uniquely detailed yet letting Leeds wade in on the last day.

No doubt this sort of journalism will have the Leeds fans masturbating furiously and signing up  to "The Athletic" in their droves. Never understood the arrogance of fans who need to regularly read how important they are. Doesn't really seem like the point of journalism to me - but I guess it's good for subscriptions that 'Leeds would have taken more'. 

The article needs taking with a pinch of salt but you're putting your fingers in your ears too.

12 months ago Joe Bryan was physically at Aston Villa's training ground and yet he still didn't sign for the club. I think it was the the year before that Sheffield United set up a medical for Jerome Sinclair from Watford and he never arrived because his agent told him not to go.

Obviously we look out for City's interests but funnily enough Arsenal don't. Stuff like this happens all the time, and I doubt LJ has any beef with Arsenal about it. It's totally reasonable that we had a medical ready, if we were still in the mix on the final day of the transfer window of course you would prepare.

Phil Hay makes out it was all down to Victor Orta's great presentation and plenty of people in this thread have pointed out it sounds a lot more like his connection to Emery but that aside it doesn't seem unreasonable.

[swanker]

2 hours ago, Corshamred said:

I wonder how many will carry on checking to see if he gets on the pitch each game. 

I check to see if he doesn’t get on the pitch. 

He chose to sign for a bigger club!  I hope he enjoys watching them play while he keeps the bench warm. 

Have no doubts, it will cheese him and Arsenal right off if he doesn’t start playing regularly.